smith



(No Model.) 7 D. L. SMITH.

BUCKLE.

Patented Dec. 6 1887.

" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DWIGHT L. SMITH, OF \VATERBUEY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALF TO EARL A. SMITH, OF SAME PLACE.

BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 374,377, dated December 6, 1887,

Application filed September 5, 1887. Serial No. 248.809.

' and exact description oflthe same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-- Figure 1,afront view of the buckle complete; Fig. 2, a rear view of the same; Fig. 3, an end view of the buckle; Fig. 4, a vertical section of the buckle, showing the strap introduced; Fig. 5, the two parts of the frame as formed from wire and in the position they occupy when secured together; Fig. 6, the jawplate detached.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of buckle commonly used for suspenders and in which the frame is made from wire, the engaging device being a jaw adapted to impinge upon the strap. In the more general construction of this class of buckles the frame consists of two sides with two ends connecting them, and having a longitudinal bar extending from one end to the other parallel with the sides,with alever hung upon the intermediate bar, said lever having a jaw-like edge adapted to impinge upon the strap as it is drawn over the jaw under the upper side.

The object of my invention is to make the grasping-jaw stationary instead of in the form of a swinging lever. To that end I make the frame of the buckle in two parts, A B. The part A forms the lower part of the buckle and is made from wire, its lower side having an extension therefrom to form the hook C, to which the braces may be hung. The part Ais made from wire doubled so that the doubled end forms the tip or termination of the hook C. The two ends of the wire are turned inward, as at a a, upon opposite sides. The width or height of this part A of the frame is about half that of the usual height of wire buckles of this class. The part B is also made from wire bent into the shape of half the frame, with its two ends I) I; turned inward and so as to come (No model.)

spond to the turned-in ends a a of the lower part of the frame.

The general shape and size of the parts A and B, except as to the hook, should be substantially alike.

The jaw-plate D is made from sheet metal 5 5 and in length substantially the length of the inside of the two parts of the frame. It is formed as seen in Fig. 6.

The upper edge of the plateD is turned forward to form the jaw d, the edge of which is 6c preferably serrated or provided with sharp teeth.

The two parts of the frame A B are set together in the same plane and so as to bring the turned-in ends a I) together, as seen in Fig. 5, then around the said turned-in ends. The lower edge of the plate D is closed, as seen in Fig. 4, so as to unite the said two parts; but the plate is closed hard upon the turncd-in ends a of the part A and so as to be firmly grasped 7o thereto. This may bedone by making indentations in the inclosing portion of the plate D upon the ends a, as indicated at c, Fig. 1, so that the plate D becomes practically a stationary and permanent part of the part A of the 7 buckle-frame; but the part B of the frame is left free and so as to swing upon its turnedin ends b as a hinge, as indicated in broken lines, Figs. 3 and 4.

The part B of the frame swings backward only, and that it may not swing forward the jawplate D is constructed with projecting ears fat its respective ends, which extend in front of the part B of the frame, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, so as to form stops for the part B when it stands in a plane with the part A, as seen in Fig. 3. At this time the upper side of the hinged part B stands above the jaw-plate D.

The strap or suspender is introduced by turning the hinged partB of the frame backward, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 4. Then the strap is run through beneath the upper side of the part B of the frame, over' the jaw-plate, down forward of the edge of thejaw d, thence outward and through the part a back of the hook, as seen in Fig. 4. Then draft upon the strap returns the frame over the jaw-plate,and so that the teeth of the jaw impinge upon the strap near the upper side of the hinged part B, and so as to firmly engage the strap. To read ust, 1t is only necessary to press the upper part of the frame backward, as indicated in broken lines, Fig. 4, when the strap will be free for readjustment.

The hook, if employed, should be provided with a spring, E, adapted to close the mouth of the hook in the usual manner for this class of hooks; but the hook or its spring constitutes no part of the present invention.

The herein-described buckle, the frame of which consists of the two parts A B, each made from wire,with a jaw-plate, D, the upper edge 15 of which is turned forward to form a jaw, d, the two parts of the frame set together,and the lower edge of the jaw-plate D closed around the adjacent sides of the two parts, but made fast to the lower part, A, and so as to leave the upper part, B, free to swing, the said jaw-plate provided with stops f, to arrest the hinged part B in its forward position, substantially as described.

DWIGHT L. SMITH. WVitnesses:

JAMES STOVELL, H. L. SLAUSON. W 

